Briard was born when Andy McCoy and his brother Ilkka (Jan Vincent) met Pete "Räkä" Malmi and formed a band. The band was initially called Philadelphia Mother Fuckers, but the name was then changed to Briard. Sidi Vainio joined the band in summer 1976, completing the best known Briard lineup.

In 1977 Pete Malmi managed to get a gig for the band in Linnanmäki by giving the organizers a wrong tape, intentionally giving them a wrong idea of their music style. That gig resulted in them making a record deal with Finndisc, and the first Finnish punk rock single I really hate ya, released in November 1977. This lineup (Pete, Andy, Ilkka and Sidi) released another single, after which Ilkka quit the band, and was replaced by T.B. Widow from Widows. They recorded the third single Chirpy chirpy cheep cheep. Soon it was time for Andy to leave as he joined Pelle Miljoona's band. Briard got a new guitarist as Nasty Suicide joined the band. He played guitar on the last single, with Ilkka back in bass. Then Sidi left the band to join Päät, and Briard broke up.

In 1983 the original lineup made a brief return, as they recorded Miss World album. After that, Briard's story was over for good. After Briard Pete Malmi went solo, Sidi Vainio played in Päät, Shadowplay and Seitsemäs Maailma (and later concentrating on academic studies), Andy McCoy and Nasty Suicide made an international career in Hanoi Rocks.